priest & writer

(For some considerable time I have been uneasy about the rapid canonisation of Pope John Paul II. I suppose I should say that I believe that the older custom of leaving a considerable period of years before a person would be declared a saint was much more wise. But particularly in relation to Pope John Paul, while he was clearly a good man, there are too many questions that may come back to haunt the Church, and discredit the canonisation.

(This article, written by a retired bishop of Latin America, and published in a 2013 issue of Concilium, is one of the best and most easily understood explanations of the problems around governance in the Church, and the struggle between the bishops on the one hand, and the curia/nunciatures on the other)

1. Introduction
This article is based on my pastoral experience as a bishop with responsibilities in the bishops’ conferences of my country.

The local supermarket is a good place to meet people. Almost every time I go there I find myself having a chat with someone in one of the aisles. Yesterday, as I stood in the queue for the express check-out with my few gluten free items, I heard a voice behind me:
“Have you heard anything from the Vatican recently?”
I looked around to see a woman who occasionally attends our church in the monastery, and with whom I have had many chats over the years.